BP Exec: Companies should recruit talent despite slump

By Rhiannon MeyersHouston Chronicle

Published
5:59 am CST, Monday, January 4, 2016

The oil industry, long criticized for its lack of diversity, faces a new challenge in attracting and retaining more minorities, women and young workers as the downturn forces oil and gas companies to shrink their payrolls.

It may be difficult to maintain the same level of robust hiring that defined the heady days of the shale boom, but it’s critical for energy companies to continue recruiting new talent to prepare the industry for the inevitable rebound, Leigh-Ann Russell, vice president of performance in BP’s global wells organization said.

Encouraging more women, minorities and millennials to consider careers in oil and gas has long been a passion of hers, and despite the industry-wide cutbacks and tens of thousands of layoffs, Russell said she believes a continued investment in a diverse workforce will help guide energy companies through the downturn.

“It’s the right thing to do,” she said. “It can help us become more competitive, which is at the heart of everything we need to in the current low oil price environment.”

Russell recently sat down with Fuel Fix to discuss how the industry can continue luring new workers at a time when the prolonged oil slump sours some potential recruits on the prospect of a stable, high-paying career in oil and gas. Excerpts below, condensed and edited for clarity:

Q: You mentioned that you are keenly interested in diversifying the oil and gas industry to more closely reflect the communities in which these companies work. Why have minorities and women been so underrepresented?

A: To get people really engaged in something, you need to get them by the age of 7. So the habits and the perceptions are formed really early in people’s lives. Historically, we have not focused on the early years, and focused instead on universities. But students are already set by that stage. What we’re focusing on at BP is attracting more people into STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. We’ve invested $60 million in this initiative since 2012 alone, not just at the university level, but at the school level. We’re giving educators training and tools they need. We can’t reach every student as an industry, but we can probably reach a percentage of educators who can reach more of the young people, who are considering their career options. They can get them excited.

Q: How do you think the downturn has affected the industry’s recruitment efforts?

A: People are still excited about joining our industry. There’s been a lot of negative press about why the oil price is where it is, but there’s still a tremendous investment we’re making, not only in activities, but in our people and technology, too. That continues to be attractive.

Q: Do you worry that the layoffs and cutbacks across the industry will dissuade new talent, creating the same generational gap, commonly called the Great Crew Change, that occurred after the 1980s bust?

A: I hear mixed reviews about that. We are continuing to maintain our relationship with universities. We are hiring graduates in 2016. We do recognize that keeping that strong talent is really important. I feel like we have learned from previous cycles that maintaining people and maintaining the investment in technology is the thing that will really help us become competitive. We’re going to be in this oil price for longer than we thought. How do we leverage technology, safety and our people to help us become more competitive at a lower oil price?

Q: Are you concerned that the industry-wide layoffs will accelerate the Great Crew Change by forcing out older, higher-paid workers with lots of experience?

A: That’s not something that concerns us. When we select our workforce, we ensure we have the best person in that role for that job. Age doesn’t play a factor in how we place people. This downturn actually creates opportunities to give younger, less experienced talent much more engagement and opportunities to pull them into bigger roles and allows them a bigger space to contribute. When we are in a boom cycle, we tend to have quite a lot of people doing an awful lot of activities. When you rightsize an organization, and you look at where you have excess operating capacity, you have to get very focused on creating opportunities for individuals to step up. We’re giving workers a big opportunity to stretch themselves. It’s highly motivational for the team. As we go through changes in the organization over the past year, workers have become more engaged in their jobs. They’ve had bigger opportunities to deliver than they’ve had in the past.

Q: Millennials seem more reticent and distrustful about the oil and gas industry than their parents. What can energy companies do to combat that attitude and encourage them to pursue careers in oil and gas?

A: Rather than tell them how to come to us, we can give them challenges in the areas of technology, which in particular, is really attractive to that group. By getting them excited and engaged in technology, we turn that conversation around: What can you do for our industry? We used to have wooden derricks, now we have 7th generation drillships. Giving them those kind of challenges, that’s what really gets millennials going.

Q: The oil slump has forced oil companies to lay off workers, but in doing so, they’ve also figured out how to become more efficient and do more with fewer people. Do you feel like the industry will exit this downturn needing fewer people than it did before?

A: I don’t know if that’s the case. We rightsized our headcount for our activity but it’s very much linked to activity. It’s absolutely correct that, through technology, we can have fewer people on our rig sites, which is good from an investment decision, but also from a safety perspective. The fewer people you have doing front line operations, the safer it becomes. But also, through automation, we have much more interesting roles for individuals doing those jobs. With those efficiencies comes a safer industry and a much more exciting industry to work in.

Q: Overall, how do you think this downturn will reshape the oil industry workforce?

A: It’s difficult. I really do want to recognize this is not an easy time for us as we try to figure out how we get more stable. That said, this is an opportunity for us to learn form the other cycles that we’ve been through. To get more competitive in a sustainable way. I really feel like having a lower for longer environment, and being one of the first companies to identify that, really put BP on the forefront of that opportunity. We continue to make safety our first priority. We continue to invest in technology. We continue to make that investment in our people, to attract that talent and give them the right experience to retain them. I see this as a really good opportunity.